


trick or treat

by laurenjauregui



Series: you make me sick (for being so perfect) // adoption [4]
Category: Fifth Harmony (Band)
Genre: F/F, adoption part 4, autistic!lauren
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-23
Updated: 2018-09-23
Packaged: 2019-07-16 05:07:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16079069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laurenjauregui/pseuds/laurenjauregui
Summary: part 4 of adoption. autistic!lauren.





	trick or treat

"Scawy."

Clara laughs lightly as her daughter hides behind her, peering around the back of her leg at the little werewolf stood by the front door. "It's scary?"

The werewolf pulls its mask off, and Camila looks over at Lauren with wide eyes. "Lolo! I didn't mean to scare you!"

The heavy guilt in Camila's stomach starts to clear when Lauren looks up at Clara, unsure, before she steps around her mother and lets out a small, "'amz!"

"I'm not a real werewolf, see?" Camila puts her mask back on, but then takes it off again, "it's just me! It's my Halloween costume. For trick or treating later, but my preschool also lets us wear them during the day on Halloween."

Lauren steps forwards, holding her hands out for the mask Camila is holding. Camila lets her take it, and examine it carefully. "'ost- ost'ume."

"Yeah, it's just pretend," Camila says, and when Lauren puts the mask on and looks up at her, she lets out a quiet, fake scream, pretending to be scared. Lauren giggles at her and takes the mask off, and Camila smiles. "Oh, it's just you!"

"Me!" Lauren giggles, before she holds out Camila's mask. The younger Latina takes it with a smile, but doesn't put it back on. She watches as the older girl whirls around to look at Clara. "Mami, me 'ost'ume?"

"You want a costume?" Clara asks, and Lauren bobs her head in confirmation. "Would you like to go trick or treating with Camila tonight?"

"'es, she girlfwend," Lauren answers, and Camila's stomach does that weird flippy thing, and she's happy she made her mom come here before she dropped her off at preschool, because she wanted to ask Lauren to come trick or treating with her. "Lion?"

"You want a lion costume?" Clara asks, and Lauren nods. When Clara smiles, Camila is happy, because that means she's going to say yes. "Okay. I think we can do that. I'll get your papi to pick something up for you on his way home from work."

Camila squeals, and she wants to hug Lauren, so she holds out her arms, to signal that to the older girl. Lauren smiles, and cuddles her, before she presses a clumsy kiss to Camila's lips. "I'm gonna come see you straight after school. Okay, Lolo?"

"'es." Lauren nods, rocking on her heels, "'ove you."

"I love you too, Lolo!" Camila beams at her, before her mom ushers her out of the Jauregui household and towards the car. She pouts when she's buckled into the backseat, and remembers how much she used to hate going to the Jauregui's house.

"But mami, they don't have a kid I can play with," Camila whined when Sinu told her they're going over to Clara's. "It's boring over there."

"Well, your papi is at work and I can't find a sitter for you at such short notice," Sinu told her, "so you have to come. I'm sure Clara and Mike will put a movie on for you."

Camila groaned, and was pouty the whole journey there. That's usually how most journeys to the Jauregui residence used to go, and she remembers one time she'd complained to Clara, asking her why she couldn't have a child, because it'd be so much less boring for Camila when she had to endure coming over.

Her mother didn't make her go back to the Jaureguis for a long time after that. Then, one day, her mami had walked into her room and fixed her with a small smile.

"I'm going over to see Mrs Jauregui and she wanted me to bring you," Sinu explained to her, and Camila pouted. "Don't look like that. There's someone she wants you to meet."

Camila grumbled under her breath as her mami helped her get her shoes on, mumbling about how she doesn't need to go to Clara's, how it's boring, and how she'd much rather stay at home. Sinu ignored her, and got her into the car, and Clara had met her outside on the doorstep.

"Hello, Karla," Clara smiled at her, "I thought you'd like to come over with your mami and meet Lauren. She's our daughter."

Camila blinked in surprise. "You have a kid now? Is she a baby? Or- or can I play with her?"

"She's a year older than you, so yes, you can play," Clara explained, and Camila squealed happily, wanting to rush inside and play with her new friend. "But you need to be gentle, okay?"

Camila nodded, because she really wants someone to play with. She didn't care if she couldn't play grown up games. "Okay. Can I meet her now, please?"

Clara nodded, and pushed open the front door. Camila followed her inside, still holding her mami's hand, but she dropped it quickly, because she didn't want this new friend to think she's uncool for holding hands with her mami. No, Camila was very grown up, she didn't need to hold her mami's hand.

She kicked her shoes off, and looked around for the other girl, spotting her sat on the couch, nervously playing with her fingers. Camila grinned, and ran over, exclaiming, "Hi! I'm Camila, what's your name?"

The girl met her gaze with wide, green eyes, and Camila felt weird. She didn't know how she felt weird, or even why, but all she knew was that she felt staticky. That was the only description Camila could come up with.

The girl stammered something out, and Camila didn't catch it, but Clara pulled her away, asking to talk to her. Camila only half listened to Clara's explanation, because she was too busy thinking about how pretty Lauren was. She knew Clara said something about Lauren – because that's the pretty girl's name, Lauren – not being able to talk yet, and not wanting to be touched, and how it might be harder for them to play.

Camila didn't care; it didn't matter to her that this other girl couldn't talk, she was just excited to make a new friend, especially a new friend who was so pretty. So she nodded when Clara asked if she understood, and walked back over to the pretty girl.

"Clara told me you're called Lauren," Camila prefaced, "Like I said, I'm Camila. Do you want to play?"

Lauren shrugged shyly, and mumbled, "Don' know."

Camila's heart sank, but she tried not to let it upset her. Instead, she plastered on a grin and said, "I'll pretend you said yes."

After asking to see Lauren's room, and getting led there by the older girl, Camila's gaze zeroed in on the toys. We could play, Camila thought, she likes The Lion King, and she has a Simba and a Nala. We could play with those. She praised herself for her brilliant idea, and reached for the toys, when...

"No!" Lauren shouted, and Camila jumped, whirling around.

"You don't want to play with your toys?" She frowned, trying to think of something better to do, but coming up short. All of her other games were imaginary ones, and if Lauren couldn't talk, then how was she supposed to know what Lauren was imagining?

"No touch Nala!" Lauren shouted at her, and Camila stepped back a little, worried, and not understanding. She hadn't touched Nala. "No!"

Camila watched, confused, as Clara ran into the room, and Lauren immediately cowered away, begging not to be hit. At the words, Camila growled in anger, and puffed up her chest, ready to pounce if Clara so much as laid a finger on the pretty girl in front of her, but she relaxed when Clara said she'd never hit Lauren.

At Lauren's scared apology to her, Camila smiled. "It's okay. If you don't want me to touch your Nala, can I be Simba instead? We can play Lion King!"

Lauren's bright green gaze flicked over to the Simba plushie, before she nodded hesitantly. When the older girl offers her the toy, Camila took it, and sat on her bed with her, making funny voices as she plays with it, her stomach twisting and turning at the sound of Lauren's laughter.

She wanted to tell Lauren she made her feel funny, but she thought that might be weird. She was in her own head for a moment, thinking about what Dinah had told her, and how Camila was supposed to feel funny around Austin, because he liked her, but all Austin made her feel was yucky.

That's because boys have cooties, remember, Camila reminded herself, before she smiled and looked at Lauren, but Lauren's a girl, which means she can't have cooties. That thought solidified Camila's plan, and she looked up, wondering how she was going to kiss Lauren without touching her.

When she couldn't figure it out, she asked. "Lolo? Clara said I can't touch you, but I want to give you a kiss. Is that okay?"

Lauren stared at her for a moment, but nodded, and Camila shuffled anxiously. She'd never kissed anybody before; she almost had, but when Austin had tried to kiss her, Camila ran away. Nervously, she leaned in, and kissed Lauren on the lips, the squirmy, staticky feeling in her stomach multiplying by a million.

After that kiss, Camila decided, I'm coming to the Jauregui house every day.

"Mami," Camila looks up, and Sinu glances back at her in the rear-view mirror. "Can I stay with Lauren today? She goes to school at her house, can you transfer me there so I can be with her always? Or- um, can I start there next fall, when I go to big kid school?"

Sinu laughs. "Lauren will be at your preschool for next semester. She's starting in January."

Camila's heart soars. "Really?"

"Really," Sinu confirms, and Camila squeals happily, "Clara and Mike want her to get to know everyone before you all start big school together."

"I'll look after her!" Camila announces, puffing out her chest and curling her hand into a fist. "And I'll punch any mean kids, if they make fun of her 'cause she can't talk."

"Violence is never the answer, mija," Sinu scolds her, and Camila pouts, silently vowing to ignore that if she sees anyone hurt Lauren. "If you see any bullies, you tell your teacher. She'll deal with it."

"Oh, so the teacher will punch them?" Camila asks, and Sinu bursts out laughing. "What? Mami! It was a real question!"

"No, mija, the teacher will put them in detention," Sinu explains once she's stopped laughing. "Teachers aren't allowed to punch students."

Camila hums in reply, taking in the answer. She thinks detention isn't really a big punishment, so she thinks she'll go ahead with her punching plan if anyone is mean to Lauren. She's Lauren's girlfriend; she has to protect her.

When her mami drops her off at school, Camila runs straight to the playground, yelling boo when she stands behind Dinah, recognising her immediately from the witch costume they'd picked out together. The younger girl just turns around and rolls her eyes at her. "You forgot your mask, doofus."

"Oh," Camila sees the mask in her hands, and she smiles a little, because she'd taken it off for Lauren. "I forgot that I took it off. I only did it for Lauren."

Dinah smiles. "That's cute. What's she dressed up as?"

"She didn't have a costume yet, but she wants to go as a lion," Camila explains, before the reason she went to Lauren's in the first place pops into her head. "Oh! She said she'd come trick or treating with us!"

"Good," Dinah says, "if Ally's going to take us, maybe we could go without parents! She's old enough now, right?"

Camila pauses in thought. "I don't know. She's only eight... and- um, I think we need a parent with us, because I don't know if Clara will let Lauren come if we're gonna be by ourselves."

"Oh," Dinah's smile drops, but it's back in a second, "well, that's okay. Maybe next year Clara will let Lauren go without parents. She'll be... six then, right? Because she's the same age as Mani, and Mani is five right now."

"Is she coming?" Camila asks, and Dinah nods. "Cool! I like Mani."

"I can't wait for tonight." Dinah says, playing with a loose thread on her witch dress. "I bet I'll get more candy than you."

"Uh, no!"

"Hell yeah!"

"You said a bad word!" Camila points at her, cackling evilly. "I'm telling!"

"No, Walz, wait!"

Camila ignores Dinah's call, and runs into the preschool building, but she doesn't tell the teacher. Instead, she settles down in the reading area, picking up the Lion King book, the one with sound effect buttons, and deciding that she's going to read it to Lauren when she starts in January.

And, you know, once she learns how to read.

-

"Lauren's my girlfriend," Camila proudly announces to the whole car, "and I love her. I'm gonna buy a ring with my allowance and then we're gonna be married!"

(She doesn't tell everyone that she found a mood ring in her closet, and she's already planning on giving it to Lauren.)

Normani laughs lightly. "That's cute. I met a Lauren at the park..."

"Well, my Lauren is better," Camila boasts, because it's true. Lauren is better than anyone else. "I love her this much."

She stretches out her arms as wide as they can go, and as the car pulls up in Lauren's driveway, she squeals happily. She looks up front to her mami, and says, "can you tell everyone not to wear their masks if they have one, in case they scare Lauren?"

Sinu smiles, and does as Camila asks, before she gets out of the car. Camila watches as her mami walks up the driveway, and decides she can't wait, so she unbuckles her seatbelt and gets out of the car, running up the driveway and past her mother to knock on the door first.

When it swings open, and she sees Lauren in a lion onesie, complete with a fake mane and tail, she gasps. "There's a big scary lion! Did it eat my Lolo?"

Lauren pulls the hood down with a big smile. "'amz! It me!"

"Yeah, it is!" Camila grins back. "I guess I have to call you Lolo lion now!"

Lauren giggles, and holds out her hand for Camila to take. As they head out of the door with Sinu, Lauren pauses, and runs back to the house to give Clara a big hug, before she catches up with Camila again.

Camila looks at her with a frown. "I thought you didn't like it when people touch you."

"Mami- um, soft," Lauren explains, before she smiles and adds, "like 'amz."

Camila's stomach does that squirmy thing, and she blushes, trying to push that feeling away, because it's annoying. She already knows she loves Lauren. She doesn't need her tummy reminding her all the time.

"You're sitting next to me," Camila explains to Lauren; she'd shotgunned two of the back seats, and made Ally sit up front. Camila had decided on taking the middle seat, when usually she's so against it, but she didn't know if Lauren would want to sit in the middle, with Normani, who she doesn't know, on her right. "We're gonna go to Dinah's, and then go around her neighbourhood with her mami. You met her, remember? At the zoo."

Lauren nods, and when Camila opens the car door, she doesn't get in. She tilts her head to the side, and asks, "What's wrong?"

"Wan'- wan' Nala." Lauren looks back to her house with tears in her eyes, "Mami- um, said no. Might lose."

Camila frowns, but her expression lightens when she thinks of an easy solution. "I can be your Nala! If you get upset, just snuggle me!"

Lauren shuffles, but nods, and clambers in the car. Camila opens her mouth to protest, to explain that she's sitting in the middle seat, because she knows Lauren is nervous around people she doesn't know, but Lauren speaks before she can.

"N- Now'ani?"

"Lauren!" Normani grins, and Camila watches, bewildered, as she buckles herself in. "How are you? Have you practiced making sandcastles?"

Lauren shakes her head, but then her eyes widen, she prods Camila in the arm. "'amz! Is Now'ani. She fwend."

"I know, she's my friend too," Camila says, looking over at Normani, "how do you know each other?"

"I told you, I met a Lauren at the park," Normani points out, and Camila remembers that, "I didn't know it was the Lauren you never shut up about."

Camila sends her an indignant pout. "Of course I talk about her a lot, she's going to be my wife!"

Lauren just smiles, looking between the two of them. "Fwends."

Camila's face falls. "But- but I'm your girlfriend. I'm not just your friend."

"'es," Lauren nods, and after a few moments, she presses an innocent kiss to Camila's lips. "We kiss. Girlfwend."

"Well, um, that's Ally, in the front," Camila changes the subject quickly, ignoring the way Normani laughs at the blush creeping onto her cheeks. "She can be your friend, too. She's eight, which means she's cool."

"'allo!" Lauren greets, before she points at both Ally and Normani. "Fwends. You- um, app- approve?"

Normani frowns at her. "Approve what?"

"Um," Lauren whirls around and points at Camila. "'amz. For girlfwend."

"Oh," Ally laughs, but nods, "yeah, we approve. Right, Mani?"

Normani nods in confirmation. "Right."

Lauren smiles satisfactorily, and Camila shrugs the interaction off. After all, she was the one who told her that friends have to approve boyfriends and girlfriends. Dinah had told her that, and Dinah is smart when it comes to relationships.

Sinu drops them off at Dinah's, and Camila turns to Lauren with a grin once they're inside. "Did you bring a big bag for candy? I brought my pillowcase!"

Lauren frowns at her, but shakes her head. "I no have."

Camila looks at her in confusion. "You didn't bring anything?"

"No," Lauren deflates, "wan' candy."

"It's okay! I bet Milika will have a bag from like, the supermarket that you can use!" Camila assures her. "And- and if she doesn't... you can have half of my candy! More, even. As much as you want. Okay? I'll give you loads of chocolate."

Lauren cringes. "No like."

Camila's eyes widen. "You don't like chocolate?"

Lauren takes one look at her expression and tears well in her eyes. "I sowwy."

Guilt multiplies in Camila's stomach and she's quick to shake her head and squeeze Lauren's hand gently. "No, it's okay, Lolo! You don't have to like chocolate. Do you like other candy?"

After a few moments, Lauren gives her a hesitant nod.

"Okay! Well, I'll make you a deal," Camila decides, "once we've finished trick or treating and we're going through our stuff, you can have my candy and I'll have your chocolate. We'll trade!"

"'es," Lauren nods once the explanation goes in, "trade."

Camila smiles, and pulls Lauren towards Milika, asking for a bag for Lauren to use. When they're given one, they head out, and Camila keeps hold of Lauren's hand, knowing that she might be scared if there's too many kids with scary costumes.

Camila hums happily as they walk up the driveway, but her smile drops when her friends shout trick or treat, and Lauren cowers. Her hand slips through Camila's grip, and the younger girl runs away.

Not caring about candy, Camila drops her pillowcase and pelts after her, chasing Lauren to the side of a house, and finding her curled up against the walk.

"No like," Lauren cries, "loud."

Camila sits down next to her, and when she sees Milika heading towards them, she mouths it's okay. She doesn't think Lauren wants to be overwhelmed right now. "I'm sorry. I'll tell the girls to say it quieter, okay? I want you to have fun too."

Lauren blinks up at her, and Camila smiles, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek. Lauren sniffles, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "Sowwy."

"It's okay! It's not your fault you were scared," Camila says simply, "but you can't run away like that, okay? You could've ended up lost, and I wouldn't ever get to see you again, and I don't want that, because I love you."

"I- I l-love you too," Lauren stammers out, "'amz."

Camila blinks in surprise. "Lolo! That was a sentence! Say it again."

At the demand, Lauren shies away slightly. "'amz?"

"No, no, the I love you," Camila quickly corrects her, "you said it in a sentence, like me! I'm so proud of you!"

Lauren blushes, and shyly stutters, "I l-love you, 'amz."

Camila grins, and pulls Lauren in for a hug. "I love you too, Lolo lion."

She can't remember ever feeling so proud.


End file.
